An umpire sent the Orioles grounds crew scurrying inside in a bizarre and hilarious scene but says he didn't 'eject' them

• An umpire kicked the Orioles ground crew off the field while they waited to roll out a tarp.
• Announcers said they had never seen anything like it as dozens of members ran back inside.
• The umpire said afterward that he didn't eject the crew, but didn't want them on the field.

A bizarre and amusing scene unfolded at Camden Yards in Baltimore on Wednesday when an MLB umpire appeared to eject the grounds crew.

The incident occurred in the top of the ninth inning, with the Baltimore Orioles leading the New York Yankees, 3-2.

With rain in the forecast, the Orioles ground crew was waiting along the first baseline with the field tarp, prepared to cover the field when the rain hit.

However, umpire Tim Timmons came across the field and motioned for the grounds crew to go away. Suddenly, dozens of grounds crew members went scurrying away.

"They're being kicked off the field!" one of the announcers for MASN said.

"Why is that? I've never seen that," said one of the other announcers.

It did begin to rain minutes later, but the game continued on.

After the game, Timmons told The Associated Press by text: "I didn't 'eject' the grounds crew. I just didn't want all of them behind the tarp, especially with the infield in."

The Yankees went on to win the game, 4-3.